THE RAILWAY AS A TECHNICAL OBJECT AND ITS ROLE ON THE DIFFUSION OF SPORTS IN SÃO PAULO STATE: A PROPOSAL FOR A GEOGRAPHICAL READING ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF SOCCER IN RIO CLARO

Abstract

In view of the popularization of soccer over the last century, the purpose of this study is to present the characteristics of this sport diffusion in Rio Claro, SP. We will deal with this topic from a geographical reading that emphasizes the importance of the railroad in the city development. The railroad is understood here as an important technical object that influenced, directly and indirectly, the diffusion of the sport in the city, as well as in the interior of São Paulo state as a whole. We present the trajectory of the two professional clubs in the city: Rio Claro Futebol Clube, founded by a group of railroad workers in 1909, and Associação Esportiva Velo Clube Rioclarense, founded by a group of merchants as an institution dedicated exclusively to cycling in 1910 but subsequently, in 1920, included soccer in their activities.   On the one hand, the former presents itself as a direct result of the railway influence, as will be discussed, given its close connection with the Companhia Paulista de Estradas de Ferro. On the other hand, the latter can be understood as its indirect product, derived from the socioeconomic driving force brought by trains and rails to the municipality, which contributes to its nascent urban culture, of which the Velo is an expression.